ing-alls



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. L L A G N I K J ILLUMINATING TILE.

gatented July 25, 18 82.

INVENTOR:

By his Aftoz-neys,

ws moam WITNESSES:

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

J. K. INGALLS.

ILLUMINATING TILE.

No. 261,720.. Patented July 25, 1.882

Fig.

INVENTOR.

mm by. By his Attorneys, 1

wdufiamn WITNESSES Maia UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSHUA K. INGALLS, OF GLENORA, NEW YORK.

ILLUMINATI NG-TILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 261,720, dated July 25,1882,

Application filed April 28, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSHUA K. INGALLS, of. Glenora, in the county ofYates and State of New York, have invented certain Improve-l ments inIlluminating-Tiles, of whichthe following is a specification.

My im'ention relates to illuminating plates. or tiles for sidewalks,vaults, areas, and other uses; and its object is to cheapen and simplifytheir construction and improve their appearance.

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan ofa port-ion ot'asidewalk laid with knobtiles constructed according to my invention. Fig.2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section thereof, out along the line 22 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section, cut on the line 3 3 in Fig.

'1. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 1, out

along the line 4 4. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of a step constructed onthe same principle. Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, andshowing a modification. Fig. 7 is a plan "iew similar to Fig. 1 of aportion of a concrete tile constructed according to my invention. Fig. 8is aplan, on a larger scale, of anotherform of concrete tile; and Fig.9is a cross-section of Fig. 8, cut on the line 9 9.

Illumin ating-tiles as now usually laid are set in. a cast-iron framefitted into the sidewalk or into the space or opening between thesidewalk and the building, and divided by crossbars into panels oropenin gs, into each of which one of the tiles or illuminating-plates isset and the joint around its edge made tight with cement. The frame hasto be made especially to fit the place which it is to occupy. Itssetting is a matter of considerable ditficnlty and expense, andthejoints between it and the tiles' are difficult to pack andcontinually liable to leak. Furthermore, the separate tiles, beingisolated from each other by the intervening cross-bars of the frame,present a paneled or interrupted appearance. Thediagonal lines presentedby the lenses when viewed diagonally terminate at the edge of each tile,and are not taken up and continued by the next tile,'but are therecommenced anew from points intermediate of the lines on the first tile,there by breaking up that harmonious continuity of surliace and designwhich the eye naturally see s.

The object of my invention is to overcome these defects of the presentmethod of laying the tiles. To this end I dispense with the frame andlay the tiles directly in the space or opening to be covered over,making them large enough, when joined together, to fill that space,

arranging them close together, edge to edge, and supporting them atintervals by crossbeams extending beneath the joints or seams formed bytheir meeting edges. Over these joints real or simulated lenses areplaced, and the diagonal lines or rows of lenses continue across thejoints without interruption. When a margin or border is desired tointervene between the illuminating portion of the plate and the edge ofthe opening in the sidewalk or other structure, the usual checkered orotherwise ornamented non-slippingborder is cast on the edges of thetiles or on separate plates fastened into recesses therein, and thetransverse joints are concealed by the. formation at intervals of deepcross-grooves parallel with and simulating them.

An attempt has been made to obviate the disadvantage of the paneledappearance above referred to in a concrete tile by having adjoinin gsections meet over the cross-bar of the frame, arranging the border-rimsback from the edges and far enough apart to receive a row of lensesbetween them, setting such lenses, and filling concrete around them but;this construction does not avoid the necessity of making a large frameto fit the opening to be covered, and in it the blind lenses over theseam are not confined in sockets, and hence are almost certain to becomemisplaced while runningin the concrete, and it is entirely inapplicableto knob-tiles.

My invention is especially designed to render knob-tiles susceptible ofbeing laid with an apparently continuous or uninterruptedilluminating-surface, but is also in part applicable to concrete tiles,applied to which it constitutes an improvement on the tile abovedescribed.

In Figs. 1 to 4. is shown a tile of the character known as theelongated-knob tile, consistin g of acast-iron plate having knobs formedto project from its upper surface between every two lens-sockets, toform an anti-slipping foothold. I show this form of plate be cause Iconsider it the best of the anti-slipping iron plates, not because it isessential to my invention.

Let A designate the wall of the building, B the sidewalk, and Gthe vaultor opening to be bridged or covered over with the illuminatingtiling.

D D are two of the sections of tiling or illuminating-plate, shown aslaid in place and partly broken away. I will describe this constructionin detail.

Around the opening 0 a groove or rabbet, a, is out in the stone of thesidewalk B, and against the wall of the building A a bar, I), isfastened. These are to provide ledges for the tiles to rest on, whichledges I shall refer to by the letter 0. The ledge on the building might.he formed in the masonry,or that on the stone might be formed byfastening on aplate or bar, or by an extension upward from thesupporting-girder, or otherwise, as circumstances may Idictate.

E E are cross-beams or girders extending across the opening 0, and whichwill be one or morein number, according to the size of the opening. Theback end of each is fastened to or against the building by being setinto the masonry, or by being cut out, as shown in Fig. 4, and restingon the bar I), or in an indentation therein, so as to bring their topsurfaces on a level. The front end of each girder is cut away, as shownin Fig. 4, and rests in a notch out in the stone B deeper than therabbet a, and it has a spur, d, projecting down.

diagonally into the stone, as indicated, and packed with lead, so thatit is securely fastened down. These girders E E may be of wrought T or Ibeam, or they may be cast.

The sections D D'are two or more in number, and fit together edge toedge, the joints or seams formed by their meeting edges coming directlyover the girders E E. When fitted together they appear as one large tilewhich.

has beencut transversely at intervals into sections, arearrangedequidistantly and in symmetrical order, preferably in the manner shownin Fig. 1, and the knobs are disposed uniformly around them. The lensesand knobs extend over the dividing-joints without interruption, so thatthe design appears continuous over the entire composite tile. Eachdividing-joint is formed through the centers of the lens-sockets in therow which extends over the girder E, the top of the latter being made ofsuch width as to intercept the light from only this one row of sockets.These divided sockets are formed with bottom webs, as shown in Fig. 2,which strengthen the edges of the plates and serve as flanges to boltthrough in order to fasten the sections to the girders, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The dividing-joint extends in zigzag direction throughthese sockets, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby the cutting of the projectingknobs is avoided and the joint is rendered less apparent than if it werestraight. Each plate or section D thus has alternate projections andindentations, which fit to and interlock with like projections andindentations in the edge of the adjoining section. The projectingportions of both plates extend beyond the center of the girder, so thata heavier weight on one plate than on the other is transmitted to bothsides of the girderand has no tendency to tilt it, so that there is lesslikelihood of opening the joint and causing it to leak than if astraight joint were used. The sections D D are laid separately. Each isof such length as to ex tend-across the openingO and rest on the ledgesc c, to which it is fastened in any good way. For the fastening to thestone I have devised the method shown best in Fig. 3. The edge of thetile is notched atg g, Fig. 1, and opposite each notch a hole, h, isbored diagonally into the stone. Into this hole a pin or spike, t, isplaced and packed with lead. Its head, which overhangs the edge of theplate D, is then battered or riveted down to make it confine the platetightly. The sections D D are of two kinds-wend sections and middlesections-both of which are shown in Fig. 1. The

margin, F, on three edges-that is, on its two opposite ends and oneside. This margin is here shown asbeing a recess, 6, of a depth equal toabout half the thickness of the section or plate D, as shown in Figs. 3and 4, and ofa width which may equal that of the usual checkered borderof the frame heretofore used.

This checkered border is then formed on separate thin plates ff. aseries of which plates are laid in the recess 0 end to end, so as tobreak joints with the sections D, and are fastened down by screws. Theseplates serve to conceal the fastenings g t, as shown in Fig. 3. Themiddle sections, D,one of which is shown at the left in Fig. 1, have themargin F formed across only their ends, so that when laid these marginsiorm continuations of those on the adjoining tiles. The platesf may bemade the entire length of the margins around the composite tile, so thatbut one plate will be used for each of the four sides. The sections D Dare laid and fastened down, as described. The joints between thesections and around the opening 0 are packed with cement or otherwise inany usual or good manner. The lenses are set in the sockets, includingthe blind sockets over the girders, and the borderplates ff are applied.

Fig. 5 shows a step, the plate D forming the tread, and a verticalplate, G, forming the riser. The two are united by an angle-plate, H,the upper portion of which forms the checked antislipping plate f,before described. I have shown this plate fas extending back but halfthe width of the border, the remainder of the latter being formed on thesurface of the plate D. The angle-plateH is cast with the usual nosing,and is gonnected to the plates D and G by screws or olts.

Instead of making the seams or joints between theseparate plates D D bysimply bring? ing their edges together, their edges may be made tooverlap, as shown inFig. 6. 1' have here shown the upper laps as formedwith con- .vex projections l,oneof which is shown in sec- .tion tosimulate lenses,'iustead of setting glass lenses in blind sockets overthe girder.

In Fig. 7 is shown a concrete light with a checkered iron border, thelatter being cast in one piece with the iron plate of the tile. 1 The.plates are-united by a zigzagjoiufi'as in Fig.

1, and the border is crossed diagonally by the joint. To conceal thisdiagonal joint the border is crossed at intervals by diagonal grooves,as shown, extending parallel with the joint and cutting up the borderinto diamond-shaped spaces instead of squares.

. Thelensispretrrahlyconsiderablysmallerthan the cell, so that theintervening spacemay be filled with concrete or beton up to'the level ofthe ribs, to form an anti slippingfoothold. The seam or joint is hereshown as being a straight line extending over the center of the girderbeneath. As but little of the iron plate is visible after the concreteis filled in, a straight seam answers nearly as well for this variety oflight as a zigzag seam. The bottoms of the cells over the girder areclosed to form flanges to bolt through, as in Fig. 1. When a concretelight of this character is to have a border I make the plate, as shownin Fig. 8, with acoutinuous recessed margin, F, into which may be setencaustic tiles m m, as shown, or which may be filled with cement. ineither case the joint across the margin is concealed.

It will be understood that by fixing upon several standard widths forthe opening 0 and keeping in stock a number of end and middle tiles, DD, of length to fit those widths, and by constructing the opening 0 toone of the widths, my tiles can be laid without necessarily casting themto order for each job. To

, make the. tiles fit the. length of the opening O, a portion may becutoff the width ot one of the middle tiles, or one middle tile may becast wider or narrower than the others.

My invention avoids theexpenseof the framing heretofore employed. Itreduces the total length of the seams to lessthan one-half. It secures agreater area of lighting-surface, and it presents a more uniform andfinished appearance from above. It also produces a stronger structure tothe same weight, as the frame heretofore used is an element of weakness,being liable to rupture from blows where unprotected by the tiles.

1 make no claim to anything claimed in the patent of W. J. Fryer, J r.,dated April 5,1881, No. 239,607.

I claim as my invention- 1'. The improved process of laying'illuminatiug-plates which consists in forming a ledge, c, on oppositesides of the opening to be covered," setting cross beams or girders E Etransversely across said opening at intervals, laying sections D D'ofilluminating-plates, ea'cli'of a length equaling the width of saidopening, transversely across said opening, with their ends resting onsaid ledges,'and with their meeting edges fitting together over saidgirdersywhereby the girders are concealed and the edges of both platesare supported by "them, substantially as set forth.

' 2. A composite illuminating-tile consisting of sections ofilluminating-plate, each section forming an uninterrupted continuationof the illuminating-surface of the adjoining section, and having alength equaling the width of the opening to be covered, the severalsections laid across said opening and fitted together edge to edge, incombination with supportinggirders extendingacross said opening beneathand in contact with the meeting edges of the illuminating-sections,thereby forming bearers for said edges, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination ofa section ofilluminatiug-plate formed withuniformly-distributed' lens-sockets, and having on its edge a row ofdivided or incomplete sockets, with a second similar section adapted tomeet the first edge to edge, and formed on its meeting edge with dividedor incomplete sockets, coinciding with those on the edge of the firstsection, and adapted, when the two sections are fitted together, to formcontinuations of and to complete said sockets, thereby forming a row ofsockets along the seam, and with a supportin g-girder extending beneathsaid row of sockets and forming a bearer for the meeting edges of bothsections, substantially as set forth.

4. A composite illuminating-tile consisting of sections ofilluminating-plate provided with equidistant and symmetricallyarrangedlenssockets, set with lenses, and with upwardlyprojecting anti-slippin gknobs disposed around and between said sockets, the sections fittingtogether edge to edge, the lenses and knobs on one section forming anuninterrupted continuation ot'those on the adjoining section, and theline of separation between the sections extending through the plate and.avoiding the knobs, whereby the seam or joint is rendered but slightlyapparent, in combination with a supporting-girder extending beneath thesaid joint and forming a bearer for both meeting tending through anddividing the lens-sockets of one row and avoiding the projecting knobs,in combination with a supporting-girder arranged beneath said row ofsockets, and with blind lenses set in said sockets, substantially as setforth.

6. A composite illuminating-tile consisting of two or moreilluminating-sections fitting together edge to edge, the line oftheirjunction extending diagonally hack and forth in zigzag directionthrough a row of lens-sockets, substantially as shown, and for thepurposes set forth.

';7. The combination of an illuminating-section, D, having one or moresides formed in a zigzag outline, and provided with half-lens sockets onsaid zigzag side, said half-sockets having bottom webs, in combinationwith another like section having a zigzag edge fitting to andinterlocking with that of the first section, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of two or more illuminating-sections, D D, adapted tobridge an opening or vault, and to fit together edge to edge, with amargin, F, extending along the edge of the opening, east or formed inone piece with the illuminating portion of the sections, and that on onesection forming an uninterrupted continuation of that on the adjoiningone, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of two or more sections of illuminating-tilingadapted to be laid side by side and fitting together edge to edge, so asto produce a continuous illuminating-surface, and each formed with amargin, F, cast or made in one piece with the illuminating portion ofthe sections, so disposed that when the sections are laid together toform a composite tile the margin will extend around the outer edgethereof and surround the entire illuminatingsurface, substantially asset forth.

10. The combination, with sectional illuminating-tiles' formed to fittogether edge to edge, and so produce a continuous illuminatingsurface,of a sectional border of checkered or otherwise ornamented non-slippingsurface, arranged to surround the illuminating-surface when the sectionsare laid together, and provided with deep grooves at intervalssimulating and parallel with the joints between the sections,substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with illuminating-sections D D, formed with arecessed margin, F, of sectional border-plates ff, having a checkered orother anti-slipping upper surface fit ting into said recessed margin,substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with plate or section D, of the fastening forconfining it to the stone, consisting of diagonal hole IL in the latterand pin or spike i set in said hole, and its head overhanging the edgeof the plate, and with the border-plate f fastened over and concealingsaid pin, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination of stone B and girder E with spur of on the latterprojecting diagonally downward into the stone, substantially as shownand described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOSHUA K. INGALLS.

Witnesses ARTHUR O. FRASER, HENRY OONNETT.

